Bayer seeks fruitful harvest in agritech

Bayer Crop Science, one of the three divisions of Germany-based life sciences enterprise Bayer, is doubling down on its drive to bring more innovation to Chinese farmers, recognizing the country as a pivotal growth market for its agricultural initiatives.

"Asia is around 10 percent of our entire business, which gives us a very important and big opportunity to grow," said Malu Nachreiner, head of the Region Asia for the Crop Science Division of Bayer. "And growing in China is one of the key growth drivers that we have in the vision."

With a history of operations in China spanning over 60 years, Bayer Crop Science focuses on crops such as rice, corn, wheat, fruits and vegetables, and is dedicated to providing customized products and solutions for Chinese farmers.

"We hope to continue working closely with the Chinese government to make even more contribution to China's development of agriculture and the farmers in China," Nachreiner said during an exclusive interview with China Daily.

Nachreiner said she takes a rosy view of the long-term growth prospects of the Chinese economy. She believes China's agricultural industry holds great potential for development given the country's steady economic growth and its vast agricultural resources, offering foreign companies like Bayer a significant opportunity for expansion in one of the world's largest agricultural markets.

"China's economy will be the one that will be growing steadily. We believe that it's a market for us to invest ..." she added. "China is a key market for agriculture and Bayer is to keep investing in China. That's the long-term prospect that we have."

Currently, Bayer is actively responding to China's direction of boosting sustainable agricultural development and fostering new quality productive forces, with considerable progress in promoting regenerative agricultural practices in China.

Li Lin, deputy head of the Beijing Plant Protection Station, said regenerative agriculture offers a path to greater food security and ecological balance. With China being an agricultural powerhouse, Li explained, the country is urgently seeking ways to shift toward a more sustainable, low-carbon model.

Bayer launched Bayer ForwardFarming Initiative, which offers customized regenerative agricultural solutions to farmers around the world. Yinhuang Farm in Beijing is the first Bayer ForwardFarm in the Asia-Pacific region.

From 2021 to 2023, farmers at Yinhuang Farm achieved an annual income increase of 10 percent, with cost savings of 20 percent, and approximately 4,000 liters of pesticide-containing wastewater processed.

"When we talk about producing more, restoring nature, using less resources, bringing technology and innovation as part of the umbrella of regenerative agriculture, this is pretty connected to the new quality productive forces," said Nachreiner. "I really believe that everything that we are trying to achieve in our vision, we can contribute to China's vision for agriculture in the future."

The company has recently launched its global initiative Bayer ForwardFarming in India, the newest of its 29 ForwardFarms worldwide, as part of ongoing efforts to promote regenerative agriculture around the world.